


Free From Restraint

by SquallStrife



Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AkuDemy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cleon, F/F, F/M, I'm putting both names Squall goes by because reasons, M/M, More characters might be added too, Multi, Potential Triggers, Slave Trade, Some characters and pairings will be added later in the story, Soriku - Freeform, Strifehart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 05:25:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3517100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquallStrife/pseuds/SquallStrife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After meeting a brave woman who escaped the modern day slave trade, Cloud Strife vows to rescue a slave. With the help of his friends, they save a meek man with thick brown hair and a gash that runs down his nose. What Cloud feels for the man is unexpected, but as faithful as the waves that swell up and crash, just to kiss the shore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

Cloud saw Leon at an auction. He’s the tall one third in line; eyes shining bright, even in his current situation. Cloud and his friends Tifa and Yuffie were at a modern day slave auction, and he was cross-dressing in an itchy purple dress to blend in with his friends. Don’t judge them; they’re there to buy someone so they can help them. Cloud strongly objected to slave auctions and he honestly felt sick stepping into the room where men and women, boys and girls had been degraded to the point where they were treated like animals, stripped of all their humanity… even their names.

He honestly didn’t want to go into the building, but if he was going to save a slave, he would need to buy one and this was the only way he could do it.

He got the idea when he met a brave woman who had escaped from the slave trade. Her name was Aerith Gainsborough, and one day she took shelter in the pub he and his friends owned. That was two years ago, when Cloud was twenty two; now she’s happily married to his good friend Zack Fair. Since the day he met her, Cloud has saved money by the gil to save someone like her. So, accompanied by two of his closest friends and business partners, he disguised himself, as the one actually auctioning has all eyes on them. Now, the bidding for the one he had his eye on was nearing, and he brushed his hair away from his fake breast and cleared his throat.

Leon’s eyes stay firmly locked on the floor as he kneeled naked like he’s instructed. The details and natural markings in the wood suddenly became intensely fascinating to him. He could feel the grooves of the wood digging marks into his knees and hands, but he’s been in this position too many times to count. He wondered why he was always being sent back to auction, but he didn’t mind really, it meant that there was never enough time for his master to do too much damage to him… accept the once. Leon shuddered as he thought back to it. One stern look from the auction master had him frozen in place once again. They weren’t supposed to move when they were up for observation.

His number is called along with his name, then he is being dragged across the wood towards the center of the platform, and the bids start. He realizes two people are bidding for him. Not very many people ever bid for him because he was so tall and bigger than the other slaves; he can be used for heavy labor, but most masters wanted someone to be used as a sex object or just something to take frustrations out on. They don’t want someone capable of fighting back. Leon was pretty glad he wasn’t small. And he was glad there were two people bidding on him because it means they must have a lot of money to try and outbid each other. The rich ones usually have nicer cages. If he’s very lucky he’ll get a cage with a padded bottom.

He risks a glance up and feels his heart sink. Master Grange is bidding for him. Master Grange is notorious for being one of the worst slave owners around. He beats all of his slaves and far more end up dead than Leon would really like to think about right now. He works them to the point where they collapse from exhaustion, then forces them to work more, even children. He feeds them the bare minimum, just enough to keep them alive and it’s not even scraps off the dinner table like most masters feed their slaves, it’s something that can only be compared to dog food. He owns a huge variety of whips, triple tail being his favorite. He whips the slaves until they can’t move and then some. Many people have died at his hands.

He’s kind of resigned himself to the fact he’s going to die because no one ever outbids Master Grange. But really, Leon doesn’t want to die, especially since he knows that it will be guaranteed to be an extremely painful and drawn out experience, which will more than likely result in him bleeding to death.

Leon listens in surprise as the bidding carries on going higher and higher and wow, no one has ever bid this much for him before. He supposes that’s kind of a bad thing. Master Grange is extremely rich and holds a high position in society, meaning he is always unwilling to back down, always proving his superior stature.

The bidding closes and Leon doesn’t look up, he’s not allowed to until his new master addresses him. He’s 99% sure that Master Grange is his new owner anyway. He’s really, really terrified right now - he literally fears for his life.

He can feel the rope around his neck move slightly as it’s handed over to his new owner and he waits for the harsh tug that has him almost choking, but it never comes. That’s strange. Usually it’s the first thing a master will do to prove that they are better than the slave they have bought; to automatically establish a hierarchy and command respect. Leon is used to the pulls that make the rope chew into the soft flesh on the back of his neck, giving him rope burn that lasts for days and makes it extremely painful to move his head. He braces himself for the searing pain, but there’s just a gentle pull instead. Leon finally lets himself hope that it’s not Master Grange. He hopes so much that it was the other bidder. He starts crawling along next to his new master into a side room. It feels weird to crawl with the dents on his hands and knees from the wooden stage, but he has become so accustomed to the feeling now that he pays it no attention.

The side rooms are small rooms with nothing in them other than a couch for the master to sit on. They kind of all look like they should be closets. All of them are decorated with fancy, extremely outdated, but extremely expensive looking wallpaper. And carpet, they have carpet. It’s always such a welcome relief to the slaves to be in this room. The carpet feels so good against their sore hands and knees even if it is a false sense of security because after this? They get taken away to their new “home”.

The rooms are used for the master to lay down their rules before they leave and rename his slave if they want to. It’s so the slave can instantly act on any specific behaviors the master commands, address their master in the way they request, or maybe not even speak. The door shuts behind them and Leon’s new master sits on the couch.

It’s not Master Grange. Leon can tell by the shoes. Master Grange wears fancy, pointy tipped shoes. These are bright purple high heels. His new master is a woman? He ponders it for a moment, but quickly crawls over to his master’s feet as code of conduct for new slave commands.

"Jesus Christ, these things are killing me," he hears a soft, baritone voice say and he almost dares to look up, but doesn’t. Leon’s eyes knit in confusion as he sees this new master throw their gloves to the floor and kick off the stilettos away from them.

Then, he hears the room door open and close and he’s even more confused - this is something that’s never happened before, this is strange.

He sees the master’s pale feet stand and walk away from his swiftly and mumbles behind him; two high voices contrasting with a male one, muttering curses and one even chuckling after a bump, as if someone was tripping. He heard zippers and fabrics behind his head, meaning someone was changing their clothes. Again, he was very puzzled.

After a second, he hears footsteps coming back to the couch, this time seeing lace up black boots, slightly scuffed and muddy on the ends.

"Look up." His master instructs in a soft, yet firm voice. Leon think’s it’s the nicest way anyone has ever spoken to him. Leon does as he’s asked, mainly because it’s the way his brain is programmed to obey obey obey but also a little because he wants to listen to his new master. He’s met by warm blue eyes that have a sparkle, Leon realizes. None of his other masters ever have a sparkle. He has love in his eyes. His master leans down so he’s eye-to-eye with Leon and smiles, waving his hand a little. He dresses nice, Leon observes, and the dark colors of his clothes clash with his sunny blonde hair. His new master looks behind him and makes a ‘come here’ motion with his hands, and two more people are next to him, leveling themselves to his eyesight. Both have dark black hair, but one much shorter in length, and one extremely long. His attention turned back to the blonde man when he felt a hand cup his cheek and run his thumb under his eye. That was the first compassionate act anyone had ever done toward Leon in years. The man wanted to cry, but he knew by now how to control his emotions.

"I’m Cloud. Those two ladies are Yuffie and Tifa," Leon’s eyes widened. Masters never tell their slaves their first names. It was a power control kind of thing. He moved his hand to the middle of Leon’s back and singled for him to drop down into a more relaxed position. Leon’s eyes shined with unshed tears and he gulped, seeming transfixed in Cloud’s gaze. Cloud’s heart hurt for all of Leon’s pain, and seeing his condition and scars marking his body, he had clearly been in a lot of pain. He had been so keen to buy Leon because of those scars. Cloud couldn’t even think of what slaves have to go through; they were humans, they didn’t deserve any of this. "All you know is the slavery way of life," he murmured softly, the last thing he wanted was to scare the other man. He stroked a finger along the scar running down Leon’s nose, seeing the younger visibly flinch. By the look of it, it was an old scar so it didn’t physically hurt, it must have been the memories that accompanied it. "I didn’t buy you to be my slave; I bought you because I wanted to save you. I promise I won’t hurt you. None of us would ever hurt you."

He had the most gentle voice and caring eyes.

"Thank you master," Leon murmured, eyes conveying how truly grateful he is. He keeps his voice quiet because he just does.

Cloud smiled. He had a really pure smile, Leon thought. It wasn’t tainted with malice like every other slave owner. He was a good person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, so be gentle. Enjoy!


	2. II

"Here you go, Leon," the woman with longer hair, Tifa, said. Leon smiled, he hadn’t been called by his name since… well, he can’t remember. She carefully untied the rope from around Leon’s neck, and Cloud ran two soothing fingers on the back of his neck. The younger man was surprised how gentle Cloud and the others were with him. He was used to roughness and hurting so it felt good to be treated with respect and care. Leon couldn’t remember the last time that rope had been taken off. It felt so good when it finally fell from around his neck; it gave him a sense of freedom. There were so many bad memories associated with that piece of rope so it was liberating to have it off.

"Can you stand?" Yuffie - the woman with short hair - asked, eyes holding a bright, happy feeling.

"I-I don’t know mistress. I’ve haven’t stood in over a year."

"Let’s try," Cloud placed an arm around Leon’s waist, Tifa on the other side, and they slowly started to stand up, keeping a tight grip on the younger man. When they got to a crouching position Leon swayed forward, almost falling as he rocked onto the balls of his feet by accident. Yuffie held onto the younger boy’s forearms and steadied him. Once Leon had balanced himself again, they carried on standing slowly. When Leon got so he was almost standing, Cloud stood all the way, keeping hold of Leon’s arms.

"C’mon Leon. You can do it."

Leon lost his balance multiple times and clung to Cloud to stop himself falling as he tried to stand up all the way. The younger man’s knees cracked as he straightened up, making him wince in pain. It hurt. He was so used to crawling around that the sudden change wreaked havoc on his body. “Are you okay?”

"Yes master." Leon murmured quietly, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. He was good at keeping the pain out of his voice and the tears in his eyes. He had done it so often it was a natural response.

"You’re not Leon, I know you’re in pain. Don’t lie to me please."

"I’m sorry master," Leon looked down again, ashamed for being caught in a lie.

"It’s alright, I understand why you said you’re not in pain just… I want to know if you’re hurt alright?"

"Yes master, I’m sorry."

"It’s okay. Now… does it hurt?"

Leon nodded tiny. 

Cloud let forward and pressed his lips softly to Leon’s forehead. The women let go and before Leon could even stumble, Cloud scooped him up in his arms and held him near. Leon’s breath caught and he nuzzled his head into Cloud’s shoulder, feeling the warmth and his heartbeat. Tifa used a long, black jacket to cover Leon’s body and it draped off Cloud’s arms. They thought it was disgusting the way slaves were kept naked. It was degrading them so they thought they were lesser beings and obeyed orders more willingly. 

When Leon was covered they left the room, earning disgusted looks from the other slave owners. Cloud didn’t seem to care; he just focused on getting Leon out, ignoring the filthy glares and snide remarks people were sending their way. When a man tried to hassle them, Yuffie pushed him out of the way and when he went to throw a punch, Tifa grabbed his fist and twisted it back, rendering him on the ground. Yuffie smiled at her girlfriend, and they linked arms, walking side by side with Cloud and Leon.

They finally reach the door and outside, there’s a sleek black car waiting for them. The horn is honked, and Leon spasms in Cloud’s arms for a moment, before settling when Cloud ruffles the hair at his nape. Tifa gets in the passenger seat and Yuffie, Cloud, and Leon slide into the back. A man with long, flaming red hair was in the drivers seat and he turned around, facing Leon. He smiled a flashy, toothy wolf grin and extended his hand towards the man. Leon shied back and look at Cloud for help.

"It’s a handshake," when Leon’s confused look didn’t let up Cloud explained, "It’s something you do when you meet someone. Grab his hand with yours and shake."

Leon did as Cloud said, and everyone stifled a laugh as Leon used the wrong hand.

"I’m Axel," the redhead said, "got it memorized?"

Leon nodded and shied back again, back to Cloud’s hold while Tifa said, “his name is Leon."

"Well hi, Leon. I hope we can be good friends, and that you’ll like our house."

Leon smiled at him and Axel turned around and started up the car. Leon snuggled into Cloud’s gentle hold and looked out the window to the right of him, watching the sights and scenes pass by. It was August in Radiant Garden, the air was crisp and the trees were a flurry of leaves, partly Summer, partly Autumn. Leon watched as Yuffie pointed out her window and asked Tifa if they could get ice cream later; back and forth they went, until the car pulled up and stopped at a tall brick building with a sign out front that said “7th HEAVEN”.

The sun was going down as they made a protective shield around Leon and led him inside. As they stepped in, Leon spotted three more boys - one behind a bar and two sitting at it, writing rapidly. Before anyone got the chance to introduce themselves, Cloud scooped Leon up again and started up some stairs that led to a second floor, then a third one. He took them into a room on the top floor that had a bed, a dresser, a desk, a lamp and a fan, and a connecting bathroom. He laid Leon down on the big bed, it was fluffy and white, with a mountain of pillows. The coat slid off of the scarred body, down the bed, and onto the floor. Cloud saw this and walked to the dresser in the corner of the simple room, where he left a pair of one of his pajamas on top of it. He grabbed them and made his way back over to the bed, where Leon was curled into a tight ball. It’s just another one of those things that Leon did subconsciously that made Cloud realize just how bad life had been for the younger man.

"Leon, you don’t have to curl up you know…"

Leon looked up at Cloud, seeing his eyebrows drawn together in a way that expressed concern.

"I’m sorry master. I’m used to sleeping in cages." 

Cloud felt his mouth drop open. He knew the slavery life was barbaric but even he didn’t think it was that bad. Cages? They were treated like animals. It was wrong on every single level imaginable. Cloud knew just from that action that the cages they were kept in were tiny by how small Leon curled up. That’s no life, it’s just existing. Cloud would never wish that fate on anyone other than the monsters who treated all those people so very wrong.  
"When was the last time you slept in a bed?"

"I’ve never, master." 

Cloud sighed, placing a hand on Leon’s shoulder and rubbing gently. The touch soothed Leon, made him relax back into Cloud’s hand. It’s another one of those good feelings that Leon didn’t know existed until half an hour ago.

"Well you’re sleeping in here," Leon’s eyes widened. "This," Cloud gestured around, "is your room." Leon gaped. He had never had a place to call his own. "No one will come in here unless you want them to or unless it’s an emergency. It’s your own personal space. You’re welcome to come in my room right next door, if you want, since the bathroom connects them and you can roam the house freely. The pub on the first floor is usually busy and loud, but you can help yourself to anything in the kitchen on the second floor, food and drinks and things like that."

"Where… where do I go to the toilet?" Leon asked kind of awkwardly; blush scattering across his cheeks even though he never broke eye contact with Cloud. 

"In the bathroom…" Cloud answered, pointing to the other room, looking kind of confused. "Where do you normally go to the toilet?" Leon picked at the sheets then stopped the instant he realized what he was doing, looking up at Cloud with fright in his beautiful light blue eyes. Cloud placed his hand comfortingly on top of Leon’s, only just noticing how marred they were in comparison to his and the skeletal quality to his fingers. They were so thin it was frightening. "Leon, calm down. I promised I wouldn’t hurt you and I’m not going to," Cloud murmured in earnest, truly meaning every word he said. 

Leon could see in his eyes that he was telling the truth. He’d learnt to do that after being lied to so many times.

"I’m sorry master, I’m so used to being hurt… it’s just strange."

"It’s fine," Cloud said, still using that soft tone of voice that made Leon feel relaxed, made him feel safe. 

Leon knew right then that he could trust Cloud fully. He knew that he was an honest, decent person with clear morals and a good perception of life. He was his savior. He had paid a hell of a lot of money for Leon, more than the younger by ever thought he was worth. He heard it go up to $65,000. That was 10 times more than anyone had ever paid for him and he was so grateful. He would make it up to Cloud because he had bought him with no intention of ever making him work. He had bought him with no intention of ever making his money back. He was the best person Leon had ever had the luck to meet. 

Cloud lifted a hand to hold Leon’s face, to touch gently, not at all surprised that Leon flinched away. He wanted contact to become a usual thing between him and Leon but he was going to start off small. He was going to slowly draw Leon out of his shell and kind of re-humanize him. He wanted to get him used to the way people should treat each other. It was a natural response for Leon to flinch, Cloud realized, to living how Leon had all his life. He automatically associated any form of human contact with pain because that’s all he’s ever experienced. Cloud knew that Leon knew that he wouldn’t hurt him; it would just take a long time for that instinct of fight or flight, the association of contact and pain to fade away. 

Cloud knew it would take a while to get Leon back to normal human behaviors. Leon stared at Cloud’s hand for a second, whole body tense as if he was prepared to run if it was necessary. He was weighing up in his mind if he could put all his trust in Cloud, then he realized that it had felt nice when Cloud had held him close and how amazing when he tenderly cupped his face. It made him feel human, it made him feel wanted. Cloud just held his hand there, not moving any closer to Leon, letting him know that it was up to him and that Cloud wasn’t going to push him. He was giving him the option of whether he wanted the contact or not. He was giving him something the younger boy had never had before: A choice. Leon slowly inched forward, nuzzling his face in the palm of his hand. It was warm and soft against his skin. It felt good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying it so far. Updates will hopefully be twice a month, maybe more sometimes but I'm aiming to have it consistent. See you all soon!


	3. III

Leon looked up at Cloud and pressed his cheek into his palm and giving him a tiny, kittenish smile. Cloud grinned back and held up the clothes in his other hand.

"How about getting dressed now?" Cloud asked. Leon nodded, but grew a tad nervous again.

"I don't," Leon sighed, "I don't know how to put on clothes." Cloud just nodded in understanding, and picked up the boxers, motioning for Leon to move his body. He slipped the boxers up his legs, past his groin, and repeated the actions with the loose-fitting flannel bottoms. He motioned for Leon to raise his arms and slipped a plain white tee down onto his torso. Cloud smiled at Leon and pet his hair, leaning forward and pressing a tentative kiss onto the other's forehead. When he pulled back, Leon's cheeks were a rosy tint and his eyes twinkled. "Thank you, mas-"

"Cloud," the blonde interrupted, as politely as he could. "Don't call me master. I want you to call me Cloud."

Leon nodded and tried again, "Thank you, Cloud."

The older man smiled, rubbing Leon's shoulder and asked, "Do you want to be called Leon? Or do you want a new name? Because now, you're in a new place, and a new life." The brunette contemplated, looking up at Cloud and nodding with an innocent smile on his face. It reached his eyes, and Cloud swears he's never seen anything more heart wrenching in his life. "Okay, do you have any ideas yet, or do you want to think on it?"

"Some time, please," Leon said, nudging his forehead against Cloud's upper arm. Cloud ran a hand up Leon's back, between his shoulder blades, and stopping to ruffle his thick brown hair.

"Want to go back downstairs before the pub opens?" Cloud asked. "We can get some food and you can be introduced to everyone."

"If that's what you want m- Cloud."

He knew it was going to take a while for Leon to kick the habit of saying master instead of Cloud. Cloud bit his lip and held out his hand for Leon to take. When he did, he stood them up and started to head out into the hall. When they reached the stairs, Leon gnawed on his lip and looked to Cloud for help. "I don't know how to get down them. I'm sorry, I'm so stupid."

Cloud's heart sank, "You're not stupid, Leon. You're anything but stupid. Here, let me show you how to get down them." Cloud went down one step and turned, grabbing both of Leon's hands and motioning to look at his feet. He stepped back and down one, and Leon stepped forward down one. "Just like that. Hold onto me and keep going." The first flight went without error, but on the second Leon lost his footing and slipped a little, but Cloud caught him and held him steady. Leon smiled sheepishly and they continued until they finally reached the pub on the first floor.

The smell of food hit Leon like a bus, and he inhaled deeply, looking around the place. The man from earlier, Axel, was passing out plates to the people sitting at the bar; Leon assumed these people were his new family. He noticed two empty chairs and piping hot plates set in front of them, steam rising and the smell wafting around. Cloud led Leon to those seats, continuing to hold his hand until everyone was served.

Cloud cleared his throat a bit and got everyone’s attention, who turned to him and Leon with content, happy faces. “So, everyone,” Cloud started, rubbing his nape, clearly riddled with nerves. “You all know that we have a new addition to the household and group. This is Leon,” he gestured to the man, “but soon he’ll pick out a new name for himself. But I just want you all to get to know each other.”

Everyone smiled towards the shy brunette, one boy at the end waving towards him. Leon wasn’t used to this kind of attention, and everyone being so nice to him, so he blushed and gave a small wave to them all. They all introduced themselves, and Leon did his best to remember them all.

The bouncy one at the end was named Demyx, and next to him was Axel. Next to them was two younger boys, Riku and Sora, who looked about seventeen. And finally the other two familiar, Yuffie and Tifa. Leon was a little apprehensive, but he felt like all of these people were trustworthy and he could find himself being part of a family with them.

They all started chatting amongst themselves, eating their food, and Leon watched and studied their actions. He saw how Cloud used a weird, shiny utensil with points at the end, and a small knife to cut his food. Trying not to bother anyone, Leon attempted to do the same, but he couldn’t keep the knife steady and cut the back of his hand. Immediately, he dropped the utensils and Cloud did the same. To Leon, the cut was nothing physically painful, just awfully embarrassing. He looked up to Cloud and held his hand out in front of him, and suddenly someone was behind the bar and wetting paper towels. Leon saw it was one of the younger housemates, Riku, and the silver haired boy was supplying Cloud with the damp towels. Cloud thanked him and held the cold, pseudo-rag to Leon’s wound, rubbing his thumb over the other’s knuckles. The other young boy had come up to them, a little metal white box in hand. Cloud thanks him too, and placed it on the bar, opening it and pulling out band-aids and healing cream. Gently, he took away the paper towel and used light fingers to apply the cream. Then, he pulled the tabs off the band-aid and slowly pressed it onto the cut, flattening the sticky part. Cloud pulled the hand to his face, pressing a small kiss to it and rubbing the fingers.

“Sorry,” Cloud murmured, and pulled Leon’s plate towards him. He took the knife and pointed utensil, cutting away at the meat. “I should have known to cut this for you. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Leon said, watching Cloud make itty, bite-sized pieces. “What are these called?”

Cloud looked up, eyebrows slightly furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Leon gestured at the plate and Cloud’s hands, “The food, the… food tools?”

“Oh,” Cloud said, slightly chuckling. “Well, what you hurt yourself with is a knife. And this pointy one? It’s a fork. And the circle one on your napkin is a spoon. And we’re eating chicken and rice, with mashed potatoes. Axel and Tifa are our cooks,” he added.

Cloud pushed the plate over to Leon again, and he picked up the fork with more confidence, getting a small piece of chicken on it. Before placing it into his mouth, he smelled it first, appreciating the smell of food. When it hit his tongue, a burst of peppery, lemon flavor exploded onto his taste buds and he savored every bite. Slowly, he ate his food, taking time to truly appreciate and value what was sitting in front of him. If you had told him yesterday that he’d be eating cooked food with someone rubbing their knuckles against his arm, he would have told you you were crazy.

After he was finished eating, Axel started collecting plates and Yuffie wiped down the bar. Leon, Cloud, Demyx, Sora, and Riku all went upstairs as the pub was just opening and people were expected in a few minutes.

“Do you all want to go to the game room?” Demyx asked them, poking Sora in the arm and smiling.

Sora and Riku agreed, and Cloud turned to Leon. Leon shrugged, saying, “I guess so,” and Demyx grinned brightly at him. It was contagious, and Leon smiled back, following everyone to a room at the end of the second floor. It was huge, and full of many instruments and games, a computer at one end, and a TV at the other. Two couches and chairs were set up in the middle, and Riku and Sora ran and jumped on two bean bags, squishing down into the carpet. Demyx went to the TV and turned a box on, grabbing two controllers. He kept one for himself and Riku and Sora played a Rock, Paper, Scissors for the other; Riku won and smirked, taking the controller for himself. Leon and Cloud settled together on a red couch, Cloud drawing Leon into a hold, comforting the shy man. Leon watched the screen of the TV light up, and tried his best to understand the game they were playing. There were courses and hills, one blue hedgehog and a yellow fox, running with each other up hills and in grass. Apparently they were on a mission, or something, Leon could grasp. But he was content just watching them play and the pictures on the TV go by.

He looked up from his place on Cloud’s lap, seeing the other man was in deep concentration, staring straight ahead. Leon decided Cloud was very visually attractive, with stunning hair and smooth skin. He liked his features and the contrasts; how delicate his face, voice, and manner are, but that body was full of strength and stamina. Leon could feel that he was drawn to the other man, and was happy to just be near him.

Cloud’s focus was broken as Leon yawned, nuzzling into his stomach more. Their eyes met together and Cloud ran an affectionate hand through Leon’s hair, and they were both sold on each other.

“Hey, did you wanna try?” a question brought them out of their daze, Demyx holding a controller their way, a friendly look on his face geared towards Leon. “It’ll probably take a bit before you memorize the controller, but it’s really fun, I swear!”

Leon saw Riku trade with Sora the controller and added, “and we’re playing with each other, not against each other.”

_‘What if I do really bad? What if they make fun of me?’_ Leon thought, but quickly realized, _‘No, they’re the nicest people I ever met. They wouldn’t make fun of me, plus if I’m bad at it it’s just because I’ve never played a video game before. And maybe I’ll do good, even!’_

“Sure,” Leon said, taking the controller from the smiling boy and scooting down to level with Sora. Even while sitting, Leon was significantly taller than the teen, who was licking his lips and wiggling his elbows.

“Pretty much all you do is use this spinny thing to move around, and press the square button to go faster. The two big buttons sticking out of the top will make you do sharp turns,” Sora explained, pointing to the different controls.

“Piece of cake, once you get the hang of it,” Riku added, getting up and stretching his arms above his head. “I’m gonna head to the kitchen real quick, you guys want anything?”

Demyx, Cloud, and Sora all answered at the same time, but Riku somehow made sense of it all. “You want anything Leon?”

He didn’t know, “um, I am kinda thirsty…”

“I’ll get you something to drink then,” Riku said, then walked out of the room.

Sora started the new, easier level and he and Leon were off. Leon had the little fox (which took him a second to figure out) and the two characters moved speedy and fluidly across the screen. The character Sora was controlling was attacking the little enemies on the screen; for a second, Leon wondered if he could attack too, but decided not to ask because it would be just one more thing to fumble clumsily at. The goal, Leon picked up on, was to collect golden rings throughout the area. At the end of the stage, they had gotten a C scoring, which Leon smiled at. He figured it was fine. Sora raised a fist his way and motioned for Leon to do the same; he patted their knuckles together, and Sora smiled, while Leon felt more human.

“Hey, Sora, can I have a turn?” Cloud asked from behind, an amused smile on his face. Sora looked puzzled, but nodded and passed the controller anyway. Cloud took the spot Sora was just at and playfully nudged Leon with his elbow. He leaned down and whispered to him, “I haven’t played a Sonic game since I was fourteen, so I’m pretty rusty.”

Leon chuckled and Cloud chose another stage, where they started off. As expected, it went pretty awful, with Cloud wiping out a couple times and Leon not turning sharply enough. Riku came in and watched, a tray of goodies in his hands, shaking his head at how silly they were playing. They ended up dying mid-level, because neither knew how to attack enemies, but they were still laughing anyway.

“Wow, Cloud,” Riku started, passing over to him a bag of chips, “I’ve never seen you play something so badly before.”

Cloud shrugged, popping open the bag and taking a chip between two fingers, “What can I say? I’m better at fighters.”

Riku smirked and passed around some treats to Demyx and Sora, coming to Leon last.

“I made you this,” he said, placing a tall glass in front of Leon, foamy with a cherry on top. “It’s a root-beer float. They’re really good, I made myself one too,” he lifted his own glass and clinked it against Leon’s.

Leon put his lips around the yellow straw, sucking in and nearly melting at the flavor in his mouth. It was sweet and bubbly, but cold and creamy at the same time. Demyx pouted, looking at the drink longingly.

“Why didn’t you make me one?” he whined, jutting his bottom lip out.

“Simple, dear friend,” Riku said, lifting up his cherry and putting it in his mouth. “It’s way too late for you to have this much sugar. Besides, you asked for Cherry Coke.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Demyx said, picking up a pizza roll and chewing slowly. Once he swallowed, he asked, “Hey, should we watch some cartoons?”

Everyone besides Leon rolled their eyes, but agreed anyway, settling on different cushions around the room. Riku and Sora took the couch, Demyx settling into the recliner, and Cloud on a beanbag, Leon resting between his legs. It felt almost odd to Leon, being so close to someone when yesterday he was convinced he’d be in slavery life forever. But he felt he belonged close to Cloud, next to other friendly people, which brought him back to when he was 17.

_Dainty, gentle hands wrung out a rag and pressed it to the gash on his arm. Leon hissed at first, but sighed; he was used to the pain of being hurt, not the pain of being cared for._

_“How’d it happen?” Rinoa asked, no longer bothered by the sight of injury._

_Leon shrugged, petting her hair with his other arm, cupping her face and bringing it up to look at him._

_“Same-old, same-old,” he replied, leaning down and capturing her lips with his own._

He was brought out of his flashback when colorful colors and a high singing voice were emitting from the TV. It was something called “Adventure Time” and Leon watched, half genuinely intrigued, half trying to get his mind off the past. He felt Cloud breathe deeply under him and settle into the beanbag even more, still holding Leon flush against him. Content with where he is now, Leon nuzzled his face into Cloud’s arm and closed his eyes, feeling the drowsiness of his first day of freedom fall down onto him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been literally two months since I posted anything, I am so sorry everyone ಠ╭╮ಠ I was busy the last few months, but now I have more free time and have gotten back into writing. Hopefully I can keep a consistent posting schedule, or something near it, I swear I'll try. Hope you all enjoy, lovelies. Comments would greatly be appreciated too! c:


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